Federal tax credits worth billions of dollars are unclaimed annually. Not because no one needs them. Not because they’re not eligible. just because they are unaware that the money exists. The Earned Income Tax Credit, commonly referred to as the EITC, performs a great deal of work without receiving nearly the attention it merits because it falls somewhere between public policy and common awareness. President Gerald Ford signed the credit into law in 1975 as a component of the Tax Reduction Act. It was modest at the time, with a cap of $400 for employes making less than $8,000 per…
Author: Sierra Foster
Sierra Foster
Born in Kansas City, Sierra Foster writes about politics and serves as Senior Editor at kbsd6.com. She was raised paying attention to this city, not just living in it. Sierra has a strong, deep connection to Kansas City, from the neighborhoods east of Troost to the discussions that take place in the city hall halls. Sierra, who is presently enrolled at the University of Kansas to pursue a degree in Political Science, applies the rigor of academic study to her journalism. She writes about politics in Missouri and Kansas as someone who genuinely cares about what happens to the people in these communities—the policies that impact them, the leaders who represent them, and the civic forces influencing their futures—rather than as an outsider watching from a distance. Her editorial coverage encompasses state-level policy, local government, and the national political currents that permeate bi-state regional life. Whether it's a city council vote or a Senate race, she has a special gift for turning complex policy language into writing that feels urgent, relatable, and worthwhile. Sierra seldom sits still off the page. She claims that playing soccer on a regular basis has sharpened her instincts for political reporting because of the sport's teamwork, strategy, and requirement to read a changing game in real time. She's probably somewhere in Kansas City with her friends when she's not writing or on the pitch, discovering new reasons to adore a city she already knows so well.
In every industry, there are individuals who perform the majority of the actual work without ever seeking praise. Tommy Detamore was the type of person who stayed in the studio long after the main performer had left, continuing to listen, make adjustments, and pay attention to how something sounded at two in the morning. At the age of 70, he passed away on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. The next day, his wife Sandra made the announcement, and her choice of words revealed a lot about him: “a respected musician, producer, collaborator, mentor, and creative force in Country Music.” You shouldn’t…
There is a specific type of disappointment that results from a director taking the easy route and then acting as tho they didn’t, rather than from failure. That’s essentially what happened with Eli Roth’s horror comedy Ice Cream Man, which debuted in August 2026 with a humorous premise, a contentious reputation, and an uncomfortable secret. The main character of the movie is a menacing ice cream vendor who passes thru a picture-perfect suburban town while giving out sweets that make kids into murderous monsters. It’s the kind of idea that works fairly well with Roth’s body of work. His audience…
When you make just enough money to stay, you get a certain kind of tiredness. Just enough to return the following morning, not enough to plan or save. That description isn’t dramatic for hundreds of thousands of domestic workers in South Africa. It’s only Tuesday. The national minimum wage for domestic workers in South Africa is currently R30.23 per hour, having increased by 5% earlier in 2026. On paper, assuming a typical 45-hour workweek, that amounts to a weekly wage of about R1,265 and a monthly income of about R5,894. The government can take some pride in this figure. It’s…
Men probably feel a certain kind of silence when a judge finally tells them what they’ve always known to be true: they never should have been there. That time for Anthony Hall came in 2023, more than 30 years after police in Baltimore took everything from him because the system wasn’t working right. He will now get $11 million from Baltimore City. In spite of this, the city’s leaders say that no amount of money can replace what was lost. Hall was found guilty of killing Gerard Dorsey in 1991 by the Baltimore City Circuit Court. The conviction was based…
The next five yards to the end zone, with people diving at him and the stadium erupting, became the most famous image of the whole Hall of Fame weekend. The Panthers beat the Cardinals 33–30, and King was the unexpected hero of a game that, just a week before, almost no one thot would be this important. It’s impossible not to notice how well the scene fits with the story King has been writing all summer. There were already rumors from Panthers training camp that he was quietly getting attention. The coaches were there. Kenny Pickett, the veteran player he’s…
Stages are filled with musicians, but there are also musicians who fill the music itself. This is what Tommy Detamore was like. When word of his death spread on August 6th, it was confirmed by his wife Sandra on Facebook. The country music community didn’t react with the fake sadness that often floods social media, but with something more personal. Give more details. More real. The fifth of August was the day Detamore died. He was 70 years old. The reason he died was not made public. The words that Sandra Detamore spoke were quiet and true. She said that…
The number 1587 sounds almost poetic. It’s not a ZIP code or a year that is very important in the history of American sports. It’s just the jersey numbers of two of the most famous NFL players sewn together. Brady wears 15 and Travis Kelce wears 87. Putting them next to each other gives you the name of a steakhouse, the name of a shoe brand, and now a federal lawsuit that neither side wants to fully fight in public. At its core, the Travis Kelce Patrick Mahomes lawsuit is about a trademark. But as we’ve seen it develop over…
Most people are fired after at least a few days on the job. Roger Rogoff didn’t even have time to pick one. He got an email from the White House an hour after being sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington telling him that President Trump had ended his appointment. No hearing. No time for transition. There was only a short message and the door shut before it opened. That moment—not remarkable in how it happened but important in what it meant—is now at the center of a federal lawsuit that isn’t just about one man’s…
Witnessing a family figure out how to live with a disease that doesn’t show itself is quietly heartbreaking. Bruce Willis, the actor who used to make action movies look tough without trying, has had frontotemporal dementia since 2023, when he was first diagnosed. But if you ask his wife Emma Heming Willis, the man she married is still there. Not the same. Changed. But there. At first, there wasn’t anything exciting. Emma talked about how Willis’ speech started to change slowly. At first, she thot it was because of the stutter he had had since he was a child. “Never…